Status: 10.10.2023, 09:27 a.m.
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his campaign rally at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA on October 09, 2023. ©
The nephew of the former US president is running in the 2024 US election. However, the anti-vaxxer is no longer seeking the Democratic nomination.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s pivot Monday to run for president was met with immediate opposition from Republicans, who have concluded that his new efforts threaten to cannibalize their share of the vote next year and contribute to President Biden's re-election.
The Republican National Committee welcomed his announcement with a press release calling Kennedy "just another radical, radical left-wing Democrat," with a range of arguments that could be used by the sprawling network of conservative commentators who tend to take their cues from the party's messages.
Republicans attack Kennedy Jr.
"Make no mistake - a Democrat in the guise of an independent is still a Democrat. RFK Jr. can't hide from his support for Hillary, he supports the Green New Deal, fights against the Keystone Pipeline and praises AOC's tax increases — he's the typical elitist liberal and voters won't be fooled," RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
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Steven Cheung, a spokesman for former President Donald Trump's campaign, echoed this condemnation. "Voters should not be deceived by someone who pretends to represent conservative values," Cheung said in a statement. "An RFK candidacy is nothing more than a vanity project for a liberal Kennedy to cash in on his family's name."
The attacks came at a time when Democrats were largely silent on Kennedy's move, reflecting relative optimism among the party's top strategists that Kennedy is hardly a threat to Biden as an independent candidate. Kennedy's poll numbers in the race for the Democratic nomination had been declining in recent months, and current national polls show Kennedy's approval ratings higher among Republican voters than among Democratic voters.
Speaking Monday at an outdoor rally in Philadelphia, Kennedy called his new campaign an attempt to disrupt party leaders' efforts to pit Americans against themselves for personal gain. He did not suggest that the conspiratorial and populist underlying theme of his campaign has changed, namely the idea that the nation's leaders in politics, media, and business have been secretly lying to the American people — and that he is best placed to expose those lies.
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Kennedy spoke Monday of American voters who have been "left behind" and "belittled by a complacent elite that has rigged the game in their favor." These words reflect Trump's appeals, even though Kennedy has been a fierce critic of many aspects of Trump's policies.
"Americans are suspicious and tired of the culture war, the false slogans, and the politicians who shift the blame onto the parties," Kennedy said. "And people believe that the divisions are deliberately staged and that it's part of the scam to make us hate each other.
He argued for policies that are no longer driven by binary debates such as the merits of gun control and the morality of abortion. "As long as we're all arguing with each other, no one can get over the castle walls," Kennedy said. "This mutual hatred is staged."
Kennedy is the second declared independent candidate in the 2024 U.S. election
Kennedy is the second declared independent candidate, along with liberal academic Cornel West. Neither has made any significant progress in qualifying for state elections, which is a prerequisite for winning electoral votes. Another attempt, led by the centrist group No Labels, is considering announcing a third-party campaign next year, and the Libertarian Party, which has access to the ballot boxes in most states, is expected to hold a nominating convention in May.
Under the rules of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which will host the debates, each of the independent campaigns must consistently receive 15 percent support in the national polls to qualify for the debates in next year's general election. The Republican and Democratic candidates usually participate in these forums, although no agreements have yet been reached for 2024.
Kennedy is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s. His family is divided on his campaign, with some in attendance supporting his speech on Monday. Four of his siblings released a statement on Monday denouncing his independent candidacy as "dangerous for the country."
"Bobby may have the same name as our father, but he does not have the same values, vision, or judgment," wrote Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. "Today's announcement is deeply saddened by us."
Republicans had initially cheered Kennedy's campaign as a Democrat, arguing that Biden and his advisers were responsible for setting the stage for the war in Ukraine, attacking free speech by trying to limit public debate about vaccine safety, and selling out the federal regulatory state to corporate interests. Both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have praised parts of Kennedy's campaign.
Democrats also initially expressed concerns, as Kennedy received the support of about 1 in 5 Democrats in some polls. But those numbers have since dropped. Leading Democrats now believe that his appeal among Biden voters is limited by other positions he holds, including the false claim that vaccines against the coronavirus have killed more people than saved them from dying, a claim based in part on a misinterpretation of an early trial of one of the vaccines.
At the moment, Republicans have come to the same conclusion. Kennedy's invitation to speak at an upcoming meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee in Nevada has also caused frustration among Republican leaders who do not want to emphasize his message.
"We have to attack him," said a Republican familiar with the party's strategy who wished to remain anonymous to describe private deliberations. "He would harm the potential candidate."
About the author
Michael Scherer is a political reporter at The Washington Post. Previously, he was head of Time Magazine's Washington bureau, where he also served as a White House correspondent. Prior to joining Time, he was Washington correspondent for Salon.com.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article has been automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English by the "Washingtonpost.com" on October 09, 2023 - in the course of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to the readers of IPPEN. MEDIA portals.